College Football

Can Alabama QB Bryce Young take his game to a new level?

Updated Sep. 11, 2022 6:19 p.m. ET

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Bryce Young took the snap, sprinted to his left, stopped on a dime and flipped a picture-perfect, sidearm throw into a tight window to hit wide receiver Traeshon Holden for an impressive 14-yard gain.

The play was so impressive that FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt had to watch it not once, not twice, but "at least 10 times" because he was in such awe of what he just saw.

"I thought it was one of the greatest throws that I’ve ever seen," Klatt said during Thursday’s airing of "The Joel Klatt Show." I watched it over and over, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s the first pick of the draft.’"

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The throw came on Alabama's opening possession during the team's 55-0 blowout win over Utah State last weekend. It set the tone for what was a dominant performance from the Tide’s offense, which totaled 559 yards in the Week 1 victory.

Young, who is the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and one of the most electric quarterback prospects in college football over the past decade, completed 18 of 28 passes for 195 yards and five touchdowns through the air, while adding 100 yards and a rushing score as well. He became the first Alabama QB to throw for five touchdowns in a season-opener in program history.

Young also joined former Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa as the only players in program history to account for six-or-more touchdowns in a single game. 

Perhaps even more impressive is that Young put up those numbers with a completely revamped wide receiver group. The Crimson Tide’s top three receiving options from 2021 are gone, taking more than 3,000 receiving yards and 26 receiving touchdowns with them. 

That is one reason Klatt believes Young is going to have to take his game to an even higher level this season if Alabama wants to capture its 19th national championship and fourth of the College Football Playoff era.

"The weakest part of Alabama’s team I believe is their wide receiver core," Klatt said. "It’s not that this (core) is bad, but it’s not what it has been over the last couple of years."

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The Tide will be looking for some of those new wide receiver weapons to step up this weekend when they take on Texas in a much-anticipated Week 2 showdown (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App).

Holden — who led the Tide with five catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s Week 1 win over Utah State — played primarily in a backup role last season. He will be looked at as a leader of this group, along with Georgia transfer Jermaine Burton. 

Nick Saban and the Alabama coaching staff also expect big things from freshman Kobe Prentice, who hauled in five catches for 60 yards in the opener.

"He is the one guy that I want you to keep an eye on," Klatt said of Prentice. "Bama fans, be excited about him. He’s a guy that I’ve really enjoyed watching this week."

Klatt, who will call the Texas-Alabama game alongside Gus Johnson and Jenny Taft, pointed out the Tide's wide receivers as one area Texas could take advantage of in Saturday’s matchup.

"I’m interested to see how they play this week and the speed with which they play," Klatt said of Alabama’s wide receiver group. "Nick Saban knows that it’s one of the only positions on the field that you can’t skimp on speed.

"You’ve got to be able to run, or you can’t play. He doesn’t like the possession guys, which is why they’ve been so fast over the past couple of years, and they aren’t quite as fast as they have been."

While Klatt does have some questions about Alabama’s pass-catchers, he does admit that when you have a player like Young under center, there is a certain level of confidence in this team that is simply unmatched.

"Bryce Young doesn't make mistakes," Klatt explained. "When I watch him play, I think he is as good a prospect as I’ve seen in a long time. 

"The bottom line is that if he wasn’t a little smaller in stature, we’d be talking about him as a generational talent like we did with Trevor Lawrence throughout the course of his career."

Read more on Texas-Alabama:

• The Business Of Bijan: Robinson's growing fandom is a family affair
• What we're watching in Week 2: Can Bama stop Bijan? 
• Sark looking to find QB magic once again
• All in the family: The intertwined history of Texas and Alabama
• 5 key matchups scouts will be watching in Austin
• Klatt: What would ‘progress’ look like for Longhorns?
• How to bet Alabama-Texas
• Alabama-Texas and other Week 2 games by the numbers
• Week 2 odds: Top 25 lines
• Quinn Ewers' towed car fuels laughs ahead of Alabama-Texas

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